Image via WikipediaRealtors eye wind-farm projectsPosted By Cheryl Heath
Posted 9 days ago
Huron County realtors are taking a wait-and-see approach to how proposed wind farms will impact the region's real-estate values.
John Hart, the Stratford-based board president of the Huron Perth Association of Realtors, says though the board has had some discussion on the number of wind farms planned for the region, it has yet to take any stand on the plan.
"We haven't discussed them a whole lot," he says, noting that, personally, he believes that any project that helps save the ecosystem is likely to be a positive one.
Hart says while there are differing views on wind farms' impact on land values, it is still far too early to review data in Huron County given that projects are just beginning to take shape.
Closer to home, Fred Lobb, who owns the Clinton-based Royal LePage Realty with his wife, Carol, says his agents are just beginning to look at the data related to wind farms.
"At this stage, there isn't a marked effect," he says.
Lobb notes that while he has heard arguments both for and against wind farms, there is little doubt that there will be growing pains associated with the turbines' installation given that "change is going to be hard, no matter what."
Though there are more than 100 turbines scheduled to be installed in Central Huron alone, Lobb says it's premature to guess what that means to the future of area land values.
Lobb, who has worked in real estate since 1991, likens the situation to the controversy that swirled around several years ago, when corporate hog farms were given the go ahead. Though, he notes, what will happen with wind farms is likely to draw much more interest.
"We can't say we've seen any impact one way or another here so far," he says, noting that some of the positive comments he has heard relate to how the turbines assist farmers with their income while those opposing the turbines are concerned with possible health impacts and declining real estate values.
And, says Lobb, the chasm between those for and those opposed certainly appears to be wide.
Realtors eye wind-farm projects - Clinton News-Record - Ontario, CA
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